The challenge for newsagents is to find a business model with a bright future. It’s something I talk about with many people and few (including me) seem to have an answer. We talk about new products and services but they don’t seem to offer the traffic we need to remain relevant to consumers. Earlier this week I had an epiphany of sorts. Our future is not about products and services, it’s about how we engage with our customers and the broader community.
The Bendigo Bank is the darling of communities and investors – providing banking services where bigger banks closed down. Bendigo is thriving thanks to community support.
Newsagencies are community businesses. We’re local. For over a century we controlled the distribution of news and information. Those days are gone with newspapers and magazines getting into every store. Publishers seem to care less about how they are represented. There is no value add. So today we’re drifting and struggling to find and maintain relevance. Consumers don’t need us as they once did. Publishers don’t need us as they once did.
My epiphany is the vision of the community newsagency – the ultimate community owned business where profits earned remain in the community. The community buys the business from the current owners and morphs it into what the community wants. Locals will support that business over the petrol, convenience and supermarket outlets when it comes to newspapers, magazines, stationery and other product because they will be supporting their store.
It would alter our engagement with the community and might provide a model for other independent retailer channels to follow.
While there’s work to be done on the model, I put it out here for discussion.